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All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
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I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
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I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
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A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
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I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.
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I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.
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So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
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But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
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Riches Are Meaningless
If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.
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I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
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I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind:
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Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
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Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
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In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
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I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.
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There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
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I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.
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Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.
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Remember Your Creator While Young
Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
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You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
